Activity Instructions

Part A: Discussion

Step 1.

Begin by having a chat with your child/ren about some of the following questions:

I wonder what the wind is?
I wonder where the wind comes from?
I wonder if it is windy today?
I wonder how you can tell it’s windy outside when you’re inside? E.g. trees bowing, leaves flying, clouds racing, hats blowing off people’s heads
I wonder if there might be different types of wind at different times of the year? E.g. icy gale in winter or a warm breeze in summer
I wonder what sounds the wind makes?

Optional: You could extend your chat to include questions around the seasons, such as 'I wonder what types of weather we might have at different times of the year?' Most of us think of the seasons as being spring, summer, autumn and winter. But did you know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have different seasons based on local weather conditions? You can find out more about these seasons here.

To find out more about how these types of questions help with oral language development, click here and here.

Part B: Activity

Step 1.

Explain to your child/ren that they will have a go at playing tarnambai. This game comes from Bathurst Island in the Northern Territory (check your map!). Tiwi children collect the seed heads of the spring rolling grass (Spinifex hirsutis), which grows on the sandhills near the beach. They take the seed heads to the beach and throw them into the air to be blown along by the wind. The seed heads roll quickly over the sand, and the children rush after them to try and catch them while running at full speed!

You could play a similar game with your child/ren, using feathers, light leaves or bubbles on a windy day. You may need to take your child/ren to a space where they can run without fear of running into something or falling over something (e.g. an open oval).

Alternatively, if you have somewhere where there is a gentle grassy slope, you could roll balls down the slope and challenge your child/ren to catch the ball before it gets to the bottom of the slope.

Step 2.

You can then let your child/ren explore the natural materials and outdoor space in their own way. Find out more about the value of child-led play here.

Take it further

Your child/ren may have their own ideas about how to extend this activity with the themes explored in this activity, or you could consider the following:

How do other materials react to the wind? Can you take a range of natural materials outside and see if they can fly? What about light fabrics or paper?
What other items can you roll down the slope? Test different objects with different weights and shapes to see which ones roll the best. If you don’t have a patch of grass to test them on, you could prop up a plank of wood or piece of firm cardboard to make a slope and test your items this way.
Explore the seasons in another part of Australia and compare these to your own. For example, in the Torres Strait, the seasons are connected to the ways the wind blows and changes the surrounding environment. For example, NAY GAY (pronounced Nai-gai) is from September to December and sees gentle northerly winds associated with the hot dry times, compared to the windy times from November to January known as ZEY (pronounced Zay).
You can find some other traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games here.
Explore other Caring for Country Learn@Home activities.

Caring for Country: Wind/Seasons (home learning)

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